


For an Unfathomable Reason: Crabs

by bugsly_twig, clxud



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 22:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19385815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugsly_twig/pseuds/bugsly_twig, https://archiveofourown.org/users/clxud/pseuds/clxud
Summary: One idea led to another. Now, the kids invade unsuspecting companies.orZombies caught on speed dial.better yetKids overcome impossible obstacles in order to cope and find love.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a normal day; like any other autumn leaf-infested day in the low 10 degrees Celsius would be.

It was so incredibly normal that the bruises on Lee’s arm were still numb from being tossed around by Kimimaro earlier that morning. _It was no big deal_ , he thought, as he stared at the whiteboard in front of him. The numbers were swirling in his mind as he thought on anything other than finding the circumcenter of right triangles. 

He pondered why Kimimaro was so brutal and full of hate for only Lee. He wondered why the morning dragged on longer than usual. However, he didn’t question why the teacher took him out of class and filed him for after-school detention. It was the third time that Lee was caught daydreaming in class and although he was embarrassed, the thought of another lecture from Neji plagued him even more.

As the teacher directed him back to the classroom, the bell rang and a tall figure took Lee’s shoulder in his hand and shoved him in the direction of the cafeteria. Lee sighed externally, having Neji as a tutor was _amazing_ and all he could ever ask for, but whenever he’d get in trouble, he dreaded Neji’s ‘strict side’. Even more so when Lee was on an empty stomach. 

“Detention _again,_  Lee? I thought we worked on this. I guess you’ll just have to reread that Geometry textbook,” The long haired brunette made sure Lee couldn’t derail from eye contact. 

“W-wait, Neji, I swear I figured out the equation, I was just-”

“The exam is _tomorrow_. It’s twenty-five percent of our grade, Lee,” Neji stood with his arms crossed, blocking Lee from the sight of the food in the cafeteria. Lee’s stomach growled but he managed to respond.

“I… I know, Neji. I will make sure to reread it tonight. Now can we _please_ get lunch, I am practically starving!” Lee shot a pair of puppy dog eyes at Neji and saw him relent. His arms slacked to his sides as he moved and let Lee into the cafeteria. 

They were only two steps in when they were both pushed aside and face to face with the school famous President of the Food Appreciation Honors Society. Who knew that if he actually took the time, (correction, if he took _Shikamaru’s_ time) Choji could start his own official club. He convinced a few unsuspecting students with the promise of free food and ‘time to work on assignments’. Lee was sure that the school obligated Choji to insert that last bit into his motto but after attending a few meetings, he noticed that Shikamaru would _sometimes_ edit homework for the attending students. May it be essays or math assignments, he would exclaim the work being a ‘drag’ before deciding to help out anyway. 

“Choji, shoving people out of the way seems a bit...excessive just to see what’s on the menu,” Shikamaru said while scratching the back of his head. 

“Nothing is too excessive when it comes to food!” Choji exclaimed. As if on cue, members of his club appeared out of thin air and began applauding as if what Choji said was an undeniable doctrine. Choji rolled a nearby loose leaf flyer into a makeshift microphone and began proclaiming something along the lines of ‘the ultimate power of the palate’.  

Eventually, when the crowd dwindled, Choji turned to begin his investigation on the meal options. He had managed to balance four plates of sweet and sour chicken on his arms and a few bags of chips when Shikamaru yawned and noticed Lee and Neji were still shocked from Choji’s push. 

“Oh, sorry about that guys. You know how he is,” he said. 

“It is quite alright! Are you sure he can carry all of that?” Lee stated. 

“Tch, don’t start saying that or he’ll try to carry more. Besides, he better be able to do it since I’ll be heading out to Starbucks later and I don’t feel like helping him with… ya know,” He said as he saw Choji attempt to grab several more plates. “...Actually, you know what? I’d rather not be here and have to clean up after his mess. See you around.” After a simple wave, Shikamaru exited the school premises.

With that, Choji was left alone to handle his own lunch. Lee and Neji grabbed the nearest edible item and snuck around Choji before whatever they had chosen to eat was added to his now growing food tower.

-

Lunch was, to put it in layman's terms, divided into cliques. An outsider may make the mistake of saying the groups were split by stereotypical means but that wasn’t the case at all. Even Lee hadn’t noticed it until Tenten mentioned it to him. There were about six major groups scattered about the school. He found it best to memorize them so he wouldn’t end up in the wrong crowd.  

_Kiri..._

Lee hadn’t known what to think of this bunch. The most notable was Zabuza, a history whiz plus part of the _Senior Seven_ (an elite team of swimmers), and Haku who skipped a grade and was a sophomore. Anyone else tended to be distant and quiet, at least towards Lee. Which was understandable due to his overbearing upbeat nature.  

_Iwaga..._  

It took a while to recall his name but… Deidara, he remembered, used to be a part of their team, at least to the extent that Lee knew. Aside from his involvement in the art club, his ceramic pieces were displayed in the local community center for all to see. He was also known for stink bombs and smoke bombs that were apparently ‘strategically placed masterpieces’ even if it was clear he just placed them at random.  

_Kumo..._

They held one of the top bands of the school and were quite inspiring in Lee’s honest opinion. While most ignored the music that grew increasingly louder as the group passed along the halls, a few encouraged them and the band even seemed to have a growing fanbase. 

_Oto..._

Lee’s mind immediately drew a close. The last thing he wanted was a reminder of Kimimaro and his gang of thugs. They made school life miserable for him. From obscenities spray-painted on his locker to daily assaults, it made Lee develop the habit of clinging close to his friends. He couldn’t really go class to class without someone there to keep his aggressors at bay. After a certain incident… he vowed to never have a point of vulnerability _ever_ again.

_and..._

The sharpness of Neji’s voice drew Lee out of his thoughts. “Suna’s headed this way, let’s find where everyone else is sitting before...Lee?” 

His black and white striped converse were glued to the floor. A flash of deep cranberry red snuck inside the cafeteria. The afterimage remained on Lee’s retinas as he stared at the now empty hall intersection. 

_Suna..._

“Lee?”

“Hmm, right!” Lee shook his head, a momentary blur fading from his mind. 

- 

After a few hours consisting of a probably failed history pop quiz and a botched essay later, Lee sat at the far left of his math classroom with his head resting on the desk. Detention was awful and if Lee really wanted to, he could make a page list of reasons why.  

  1. Boring. Absolutely nothing to do
  2. No time with friends
  3. Miss Neji
  4. Miss Tenten
  5. No time to exercise
  6. Not enough _space_ to exercise
  7. Not to mention he can’t really do much of anything
  8. Teacher confrontation
  9. Bored
  10. Alone
  11. Can’t text
  12. No minecraft
  13. No watching videos
  14. No _fun_
  15. Not knowing what’s going on outside of school
  16. Were those shouts?
  17. Regret 
  18. No counting steps
  19. No running and, by god, is running amazing
  20. Not knowing why people are shouting outside



Eventually, he got the list to reach a page, however, the yelling hadn’t subsided. He could always look out the window, but the temptation of some event happening would be too great to resist. He also couldn’t risk additive days of detention and not to mention spending another hour without being active felt like… pure torture. 

He felt a buzz in his right pocket, two buzzes. Being the only one in detention meant every little movement could be assumed to be Lee. He’d have to check those messages when the teacher left the room. As if his prayers had been answered, his teacher did just that.  

“I’ll be back in just a moment. It sounds like a horror movie out there. I trust you can hold off on your own?”

“Yes, Mizuki-sensei! I shall be alright.” 

With that, Lee was left to his own devices and continued to stare in any direction _except_ for the windows outside. With each increasing yell, goosebumps appeared on his skin as if they were acne; spreading and annoying. 

Noises were what one could call a hit or miss for Lee. Right now, Lee could mention three sounds that stood above all else. The tapping of his fingers (he was desperate to release some energy), the ticks of the clock (irritating), and his thoughts echoed throughout the room. The shouts were already a given and had been happening for a while so they blended into a quiet stillness. 

Lee didn’t realize when certain noises started to become louder than others but if he had to pinpoint an exact time… He exhaled and laid his head on the desk once more. Another reason why he hated detention was because of the elongated minutes of pure static silence that enveloped around him. There was nothing to keep him from replaying Kimimaro’s actions and words aside from the distant taps and ticks from his fingers and clock. Lee clenched and unclenched his fists. Neji had given him a stress ball at one point but after a quick run, they came to the conclusion that it had fallen off somewhere. So, playing around with his hands was the best and only option. 

Unless… 

Lee shot his head up and stared at his now shaking hands. Looking out the window held many benefits. He would find out what was going on and it’d be the perfect distraction. However, if he didn’t look, he could keep the self-restraint he was working on maintaining for so long and patiently wait until detention was over. 

Patient. _Right._ He stared at his hands, looking for an answer between the wrinkles and crevices in his palms but he found no luck. 

Slamming his hands on the desk, he got up and _finally_ looked out onto the marigold and bronze-hued horizon. What he saw beyond the single paneled laminated glass would change his life forever.  

_Holy shit._


	2. Chapter 2

A breeze signifying cool mid-Autumn slipped through an open window and gently, but noticeably, caressed Gaara’s exposed, pale forearms, which caused him to shudder. That was a feeling that he was never quite adjusted to in the same way he was to the scorching days spent outside expanding and tending to his garden. 

Being a growing botanist, Gaara was fairly well-educated of many different plants; especially of their needs and affects. He had originally been recommended gardening as a coping hobby by his therapist, Tsunade. When he had taken a liking to it, and when it had started to help him, Tsunade furthered his teachings about a variety of plants; particularly of their usefulness when it came to medical purposes. She even gave him the assignment to study those very things, as they were his main escape from the dark thoughts that often suffocated him.

Those very thoughts started creeping around quietly in his head as he sat on a comfortably boothed sofa in the midst of another therapy session, staring blankly at the suffering, but beautiful trees outside.

“Gaara?” Tsunade’s voice accompanied nature’s sound. Her tone was concerned, but it also sounded like she had called his name for the 5th time. Gaara shifted his aimless focus from the seemingly lifeless outside world, to the gaze of Tsunade. Their eye contact only lasted for a few milliseconds until Gaara darted his view to Tsunade’s clipboard.

Tsunade placed the clipboard down on the coffee table in front of her, but Gaara’s eyes had already diverted away from it. She then leaned back in her office chair, and took a long sip of… “tea” as she observed Gaara. She had been his therapist for well over a year and a half, and had picked up on subtle body language that could be a giveaway at what he might be feeling. From there, she determined what questions would be best to ask him.

“How’s the garden at home coming along?” Was the question she decided was right. She knew that he’d rather be at home caring for his plants to maintain some sort of  inner peace than in her living room while the chaos within him brewed, so she figured it’d be a good idea to bring it up in hopes of keeping his demons at bay. She then placed down her mug and folded her arms, looking at Gaara expectantly.

“It’s well,” Gaara responded in his bold, yet hushed voice that was seemingly darkness-ridden. At the moment, all he chose to think of was the technicalities of botany in the hopes that it would battle the menacing thoughts slowly consuming his mind as he sat motionless. 

Gaara had always wanted to handle things on his own. Most times he could come off as controlling, but that wasn’t the case. He always hated relying on others, because for a long time, he felt that there was nobody else that he could count on other than himself. He still felt that way, even after the prolonged therapy that Kankuro and Temari had made him pick up. Still, in the deepest parts of his heart he had an appreciation for their acts of concern, and therapy had given him a temporary solution to his unforgiving emotional agony.                         

As Gaara fought the silent battle, Tsunade was analyzing Gaara’s lack of movement, and noticed that he was, in the slightest bit, shaking.

“..Gaara. Please. I’m trying to help you, and I can’t do that if you constantly insist on dealing with this yourself.” Tsunade always had the perfect tone for what she said, and what she said was always thought out carefully in her therapy sessions. It was hard to get Gaara to speak up, though, even for a holder of a master’s degree in psychology. 

When she did get him to break, the information she got was brief, but she made do with what she was able to obtain and tried her best to work from there. Most sessions, she got almost no information, but she needed to see him consistently, otherwise, there’s no telling how bad things would turn out- most of their progress could be lost if he wasn’t kept in check.

“I’ve already told you that you don’t have to be alone, but if this continues… you will be if you keep this cynical ideology of yours.” There was a long pause, but no response from Gaara. Tsunade continued speaking, in a sympathetic tone to avoid adding any pressure, “You remember all the way back to the start of this, right? How you felt? Don’t you think you’ve improved since then? Tell me honestly.”

There was a brief pause, followed by a sincere, but faintly doubtful, “...Yes.” Gaara knew that there was a difference even if he never acknowledged it. 

Tsunade had gotten Gaara to admit something especially significant; the first breakthrough in weeks. She smiled a bit at her accomplishment, then continued delivering her point, “The point is; it takes time, Gaara. I know you don’t come here by choice but you’ve improved a lot more than you think you have over these months. Be proud of yourself, Gaara. Let other people be proud of you too. This is important for you to get better, you know that much.”

Gaara wasn't aware of his own feelings of gratitude to her- if he felt any. Emotion was a difficult thing for him to sort, so often times he showed little to none. However, for a very brief moment he had forgotten his demons without being accompanied by any sort of hobby, but he didn't stop shaking afterwards.

Another long pause, filled with almost complete silence, re-established the room. During the pause, Gaara’s focus shifted, once again, to the outside world’s view. Silence seemed to be dominating there as well. Even the creeping wind had died. Gaara noticed that eerie detail, and became a bit unsettled by it. His thoughts were, once again, beginning to reclaim their seemingly permanent crevices within his mind and his shaking increased steadily.

Gaara guided his eyes to the clock hanging above the doorway behind Tsunade, who had also been staring out of the large window, patiently waiting for a response she didn't expect anyways. He realized that the session was almost to an end, and gripped his clothes tightly to fulfill his unknown, but intense urges that were causing him to shake. He hoped this would hold him over until his siblings arrived shortly to pick him up and take him home to the closest thing to a haven that he had.

A few minutes passed as Gaara maintained his death grip on both of the striped sleeve of his sweater and the leg of his sweatpants. He hadn’t stopped looking at the clock.  _ 5 PM. _

Tsunade glanced over at him after entertaining a thought in her mind while she admired the beauty of autumn that represented itself on a nearby oak tree, and broke the silence. She could tell he would be worse by the minute, but she also knew the session was about to end as she looked at the clock.

“Alright, it looks like our time is about up for today,” she said, standing up. She shot another concerned look at Gaara. “They’ll be here soon,” she stated, in a tone that matched her expression.

Gaara had nearly hour longer therapy sessions than what typical attendants had, due to the fact Tsunade had been steadily increasing the amount of time each of his sessions would last over the course of a few weeks to a month. She did this to effectively observe if he had improved the amount of time he could stray away from his dark thoughts in a casual setting. Of course, this method was only applicable to days where he was more unstable, so it wasn’t always necessary. But he was considered unpredictable in that sense. One day, he could get through school with minor complications, and others he’d struggle to the point where he’d be issued to therapy early. Usually, those days would be the result of Gaara being triggered by a certain event happening, which caused him to act… intensely and required an immediate session. Today, he had come on schedule, right after school, but during the therapy, he suddenly became solemn and quite unstable…  _ but what was the trigger? _

This was the question Tsunade asked herself as she continued looking at Gaara while the minutes passed, taking sips of her beverage as she did and shifting her eyes back and forth to the window in between them. It seemed that he was indeed was getting worse by each minute Temari and Kankuro were late.

She took a final swig and abruptly placed her mug back on the table. Gaara, now staring blankly at the ground, flinched in response to the noise. She sat back down, again looking at the clock, wondering how much longer he could last in his chaotic state of mind. 

_ 5:13 PM.  _ They were thirteen minutes late.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” She asked in an attempt to sound collective; adding a rightful amount of concern. However, she couldn’t hide the obvious fear in her voice. She worried that he’d done something recently to cause him deep regret. A regret that could only have caused him to behave this way. Was it… violence? No, he wouldn’t hurt anyone unless they dared to do so to him, and she knew for a fact that nearly everyone that he came into contact with was more or less afraid of him. Rumors had spread around school and after a few days of side glances and relentless glares, he was exempt from school for therapy. If students weren’t afraid of him, they were confused by him. This, in turn, caused a large number of people to avoid him. Often times the only company he kept was that of his siblings, and even they didn’t feel comfortable around him. Needless to say, they were also afraid of him. Yet everyone had one thing in common when it came to Gaara. 

_ They knew of his past. They knew of what he had done. They knew Gaara was a…  _

A piercing scream abrupted Tsunade’s thoughts, and Gaara suddenly started gripping his head. He leaned over and yelled something that sounded like endless pain. “Stop….!” He was in agony, he tightened his grip, believing that the terrorizing sound came from his mind.

Tsunade had no restraint in showing her fear now, as she tried to sort out the chaos. Gaara was progressively getting worse than he’d ever been in her presence, and she had no idea what he would do next; not to mention she had no idea where the scream of pure horror that had struck the silence just seconds ago had come from.

“...Leave me alone... LEAVE...ME..ALONE..!!!” Gaara let out another desperate yell in agony as he talked to himself. Tsunade immediately rushed over to him, in blinded hopes of diffusing his inner mayhem. “Gaara! Please, calm down..!” She took another step and reached out her hand, which was harshly slapped away in an instant. She took a step back and looked at him in pure bewilderment. His eyes winced tightly shut as he placed his hand back on his head.

Gaara’s mind was now overflowing with madness. Artificial screams had once again been set into his mind and replayed countless times, and he was powerless to stop it. He hadn’t had such an intense, indescribable feeling since-... Anguish was the best way to describe it. His hidden compulsions were slowly beginning to resurface as his trauma was mercilessly replayed within him.

Seconds later, the front door of the establishment opened and quickly slammed. Hurried footsteps traced their way to the living room. “Tsunade!” Shizune rushed in, a horrified look upon her face. 

She brought Tsunade into a sudden hug, and Tsunade’s concern only grew, especially since Shizune was shaking rapidly in their brief embrace.

“I-I was out to g-get the- and I-, I--,” Shizune’s breath was breaking as she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Tsunade stood with her mouth agape. She had never, in all of her life, seen Shizune like this. Entering the room with a patient inside was against regulations and Gaara’s screams of torment didn’t look like they were going to end any time soon. 

“W-we-we need to leave. We need to get away, we need to leave n- _ now! _ ”


End file.
